Committee approves transfers to cover electrical inspection payroll and late invoice

The Holyoke Finance Committee on Sept. 8 approved transfers to cover staffing and billing shortfalls in the Building Department’s electrical inspections account, forwarding the items to the full City Council for final action.

Leslie Ward, who identified herself as representing the Building Department, told the committee the department’s wiring inspector went out on medical leave in May and is being paid through an insurance benefit that does not draw against his salary line. Ward said the department needed to transfer funds from the inspector’s salary line to the electrical inspections account to pay a backup inspector who performed inspections during the absence. The committee approved a transfer of $9,342.11 for that purpose.

Ward also explained that a longtime backup electrical inspector submitted a large invoice late — after the fiscal year closed — and that auditing of that bill revealed an outstanding balance. The department requested $3,250 to cover the remaining balance for services rendered in fiscal 2025. Ward said the backup inspector has been replaced with another contractor who submits weekly bills instead of bulk invoices, reducing recurrence risk.

Councilors questioned whether the disability payments were handled through the city’s insurance or a self-insurance arrangement; Ward did not have that information available at the meeting and said she would follow up. Councilor Dravet observed the invoice was not submitted until July 30, 2025, which made it impossible to place the request in FY2025; the committee discussed process changes to avoid similar year-end issues. The committee voted to forward both transfers to the full City Council.